sewing failure

I’ve been neglecting my blog reading (and writing) lately, but I managed to log into my reader today to find this excellent post by Suzannah of Adventures in Dressmaking.

Apparently, Martha Stewart said something kind of crappy about bloggers earlier this week:

“I do have a minor gripe about that, too, because who are these bloggers? They’re not trained editors and writers at Vogue magazine. I mean, there are bloggers writing recipes that aren’t tested, that aren’t necessarily very good or are copies of everything that really good editors have created and done. Bloggers create kind of a popularity. But they are not the experts and we have to understand that.”

I have a confession, y’all. I’m no Martha Stewart. You are advised to use extreme caution before attempting a recipe from my kitchen. I’m not crafty- I think most crafts are actually kind of pointless, and 2 years ago I couldn’t thread my sewing machine or wind a bobbin without consulting the manual. I earn my living working in a profession where “creativity” is usually rewarded with jail time, and my sense of style is so terrible I had to learn to sew because stores don’t sell the ridiculous things I wanted to wear. Not even Mod Cloth.
So, if you came here expecting Vogue or Southern Living or Martha Stewart, Google really really failed you this time.

The thing is, I like bloggers for exactly the same reason she apparently dislikes them. They AREN’T experts! They are often people like me, that have no degree or professional cred behind their hobby. They are trying to juggle working a full time job, raising a family, and finding time to finish a project. They are sharing their pitfalls so the rest of us can learn from their experience. They are showing off their successes, so we can be inspired to try something new. Because if a blogger can rock that pattern, despite her lack of accredited expertise, maybe I can too!
I have never religiously followed Martha, but I used to watch her tv show and think “she makes it look so easy, but I’m sure it would be a disaster if I tried it. I’m no Martha Stewart.”
Bloggers make these projects attainable. They often show what the tricky part is, what went wrong, and how they fixed it. They give us the courage to walk into the craft store, buy the Martha Stewart brand crafting supplies, and try it on our own.
Nope. There are no experts or crafty people here. Just me, inexpertly flailing through my sewing projects. If you were looking for Martha Stewart, she’s on aisle 10 at Joann. Go have fun, but don’t tell the internet about it…

I’m sharing this post over at parentwin.com, where you can find more posts to piss off Martha from amature chefs, crafters without art degrees, and even articles about feminism from people without women’s study degrees (I’m pretty sure they have vaginas, but I have not personally verified that).